Dark Hunger

Elize stared at her hard. She narrowed her eyes. "I have seen you before," she said. 

"Seen her before?" Vadin chuckled. "That is Arryn Aramaer, King Edyrm's daughter. She has been with us all the time. Where have you seen her?" He laughed. "Are you hallucinating, vampire queen?" 

Arryn stayed fixed in her place as she watched Elize. Elize could see her gulping. It was as if it was secret that the two shared between them, which was better if it remained a secret. Or was it something else? "Get her ready for father," she said in the same cold and distant voice and then turned around to leave. 

"Leave her!" Auril shouted. "Edyrm has already eaten Caleb's flesh. What else do you all want now?" He pulled against his chains helplessly.

Vadin ignored him and then leaned over Elize again. He raked his fingers over her body and then stopped them right over her pulse point on the neck. "This is where your blood flows the maximum, and this is where my king will drink from." Saying that he bent over her and inhaled her scent. "You smell so delicious… and all that… magic…" he closed his eyes as her scent intoxicated him. He darted his tongue out and licked her skin at the pulse point. 

"Not so fast, demon," Elize said and then suddenly the chains with which she was tied snapped from the walls with a loud clang rendering her free. She whirled them towards her and the next moment before Vadin could even understand what was going on, the iron chains clasped around his neck. 

Shock flitted wildly through his body as he grabbed the chains that had tightened their hold on his neck and looked with wide eyes at Elize, who had gotten up from the altar and was staring at him with her red eyes. She thrust her hands forward and red tendril lashed at him. He gurgled and thrashed his head to the sides to free himself. The tendrils curled around his waist and pulled him backwards. 

Elize's iron chains singed from where they had locked her and then melted right in front of him. She freed herself from the iron locks while watching him struggling in the chains. Elize jumped off the altar and walked to Auril who was looking at her with bewilderment. With a flick of hand, red tendrils shot out from her fingers and then singed the chains that were holding him. "We need to leave," said Elize as she went to Caleb and removed his chains.

"How? What?" Auril stuttered as for the first time in five days he moved freely. 

Vadin growled and resisted against them, as the chains lifted him from the ground and made him lie on the stone altar. They wound around him tightly and clutched to the wall and melded with it. They loosened a little around his neck. He turned his head towards Elize in complete amazement. He wanted to shout and call for help but couldn't. The woman, who Laurel had said was a fragile vampire, who didn't know how to use magic or couldn't even fight properly against the Loreans, had suddenly shown that she was stronger than a demon like him? How was it possible? She wasn't even a natural born vampire. She was a turned vampire. He was absolutely confused and numb at the situation.

Elize freed Caleb and then she walked to the demon who was on the altar. Vadin yanked his chains to free himself, but the more he did that, the more the chains pulled his limbs tightly. She leaned over him and then ran a finger to his neck where she placed it on his pulse point. "This is where your blood flows the maximum." She leaned near him. "And this is where I will puncture." Saying that she struck her fangs inside his flesh. He groaned in pain as she sucked his blood. Moments later, Elize pulled away and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "You thought I got lured by you?" She chuckled as she smeared his blood over his chest. "No demon. I got lured by choice!" 

Vadin shot her a stunned gaze. 

She laughed, feeling better after having his blood which tasted horrible. But she needed it badly. "Don't look so alarmed. Why do you think I participated in that foolish brawl in the streets of the Whiteclaw pack?" She twirled her fingers in the air and called her magic back. 

Vadin found his voice again. It was as if a ton of pressure had lifted off his throat and chest. His horns started straightening. "Why?" 

"So that one of you notices me," she said. "How else do you think I would have found my way to a demons' lair in this vast stretch of Northern Mountains? Only a fool would have come here without chasing a clue." A smile tugged her lips up. 

"So— So—?" 

"Ah save yourself from thinking so much, Vadin!" she said and walked back to where Auril and Caleb were. She waved her hands in the air and all of a sudden, Auril felt the magic sealing his powers peeling off like a layer that had glued to him. Magic tingled his skin and his fingers. He looked at Elize with amazement in his eyes. Elize winked at him and then turned to look at Vadin. 

"You see that I actually turned myself in only to reach Caleb. You thought that you could abduct him and then lure me in? You don't lure people like me. You get lured by them," she continued. "I scented the demons in the forest and knew that one or two of you were there near me. None of you came in my vision because you thought that I would be scared and may resist coming. And you didn't want me to lose my blood. You thought I didn't know all that?" she raised her eyebrow and scoffed. "The truth is that I let you think that I am fragile, that I am weak." She brushed her nails with her thumb and blew air on them. "You see there's a saying—if you want to win over your opponent, let them think that you are weak, let them come near you. And when they are near you, strike them, and strike them hard!" Saying that, she brought her hand down and punched him on his face. 

As his face swung to the left, his lips split and blood came out of his mouth. He could hear a tooth snapping inside. He was astonished as hell and now a bit frightened. With great difficulty, he turned to look at her. Through his pain he growled in a hoarse voice, "My king is going to take that magic back and kill you." 

She laughed again. "Really? Well then we just have to watch it, don't we?" she replied and brushed her palms. "Why do you think I didn't resist when I saw you outside the cave?" Vadin knew the answer, but she said it anyway. "Because I wanted to find and come to the place where my husband was locked.. Now that wasn't too difficult, was it?" she mocked him.